Official figures show that British industrial output grew at its slowest annual pace in four months in November, dragged down by weakness in the oil and gas sector, despite strength in manufacturing.
The key manufacturing component was broadly in line with recent private sector surveys.
Industrial output rose 0.4% on the month after October's 0.1% decline. However, that was a smaller rebound than the 0.6% analysts had expected, and annual output growth slowed to 3.3% from 3.5% in October.
Manufacturing output grew slightly faster than forecast, helped by strong growth in car production and food processing. The 0.6% monthly rise matched October growth that was the strongest since March.
The strong manufacturing figures chime with recent industry surveys showing exports gave the sector a strong boost at the end of last year, although leading indicators have suggested the economy is now slowing sharply.
